Police have registered a case against five people, including Maharashtra Youth Congress president Shivraj More, after a drone was allegedly flown without permission over the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) students’ protest site near S M Joshi Bridge in Pune. The case was registered by Vishrambaug police on October 10 in connection with an incident reported on October 5.
The people named in the case are drone operator Digambar Bharat Khare, Shivraj More, Pramod Patil, Hrishikesh Gangurde and Akshay Kamble. The complaint was filed by police constable Yuvraj Tele. According to the report, the police were present at the protest site to gather information when they saw a drone flying over a crowd at around 7.30 pm on October 5.
Tele reportedly followed the drone and found a person operating it with a remote control near a generator at the rear of the protest site. After senior officers were informed, Assistant Police Inspector Kudale questioned the operator. Khare allegedly told the police that he was a photographer and had flown the drone to record the protest at the request of Patil, More, Gangurde and Kamble.
The report states that Khare told the police he did not have permission to operate the drone at the protest location. Officers instructed him to bring the drone down and later seized equipment valued at approximately Rs 50,000. The seized items include a drone valued at Rs 40,000 and an old remote controller valued at Rs 10,000.
Police also reportedly asked Khare repeatedly to produce formal permission for flying the drone and filming the protest. After he failed to provide documents or approval, the case was registered. Police Sub-Inspector Shobha Teli is conducting the further investigation. The report does not state whether the police have alleged any injuries, damage or disruption caused directly by the drone flight.
The case comes amid wider police action linked to the MPSC students’ protest in Pune. Vishrambaug police had registered a separate case on October 9 against 15 people, including student representatives, after a gathering was held on a public road outside the Indulal Complex in Navi Peth. Police said the protest was conducted despite information that permission for it had been cancelled.
According to the police account cited in the report, the gathering caused significant traffic congestion in the area and affected public peace and order. The two cases place separate forms of regulation around the protest in focus: permission for public assemblies and permission for drone operations over crowded urban locations. The investigation into the drone case and the earlier public-road gathering case is continuing.
